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There has been much comment this week about the Europa League – whether we should take it seriously, whether we will take it seriously, and whether Harry Redknapp’s comments about it being “a nuisance” were ill-advised.

Should we take the Europa League seriously?

Is wining a trophy or finishing 4th more important? Can we compete in Premier League and the Europa League without making mass changes for each game? If not, should we prioritise one over the other?

I don’t think there’s a simple answer to any of those questions. Fans are divided on whether they would trade finishing 4th for winning the Europa League – the “cup glory” vs “Champions League” debate, which has been had many times in pubs and on message boards over the last few years. On that issue, Redknapp therefore cannot really win.

I would personally argue, however, that we do not need a full-strength team to progress beyond the group stage of the Europa League. Our squad is currently light due to injury, but when players are back (and most are progressing well on that front), we can almost field two full teams of experienced, quality players – the second best of these should be good enough to get us out of the group in my opinion.

Ignoring that, it is interesting to look at our results in league matches after the Champions League games last year.

Young Boys A 17th August
Stoke Award A 21st August – WON

Young Boys H 25th August
Wigan Athletic H 28th August – LOST

Werder Bremen A 14th September
Wolves H 18th September – WON

FC Twente H 29th September
Aston Villa H 2nd October – WON

Inter Milan A 20th October
Everton 23rd October – DREW

Inter Milan H 2nd November
Bolton A 6th November – LOST

Werder Bremen H 24th November
Liverpool H 28th November – WON

FC Twente A 7th December
Chelsea H 12th December – DREW

AC Milan A 15th February
Blackpool A 22nd February – LOST * 7 day gap.

AC Milan H 9th March
West Ham H 19th March – DREW * 10 day gap.

Real Madrid A 5th April
Stoke H 9th April – WON

Real Madrid H 13th April
Arsenal H 20th April – DREW * 7 day gap.

If I had the time, I would look at points achieved in the games after Champions League matches, compared to points achieved in other games, and also the number of changes made to the starting eleven for each game. As it is, I think it’s fair to say that we didn’t do that badly in matches when we had played a European game a few days before, so Redknapp’s insistence on making wholesale changes is perhaps not as essential as he thinks.

Development squad involvement

That said, I personally think that the Europa League is a perfect opportunity to give young players a chance to progress, away from the rigours of the Premier League. Liverpool saw last season how it is possible to use a blend of youth and experience in their Europa League teams, and reaped the benefits of giving youth a chance when the likes of Spearing, Kelly, Wilson, Shelvey, etc gave them genuine options at the end of the season (and are still in and around their first team squad).

Our development squad is full of young players who are now at the point where they need to be given the occasional game to see where they are in terms of their progress – players like Townsend, Carroll, Kane, who have been out on loan and done well, and now need to be integrated into their first team squad and given a taste of first team football at Spurs.

“A nuisance”

Redknapp’s declaration that the Europa League is “a nuisance” is frustrating on a number of levels. Firstly, it shows that he doesn’t see the competition as a priority or one that he’s bothered about winning, which irritates the fans (particularly those that want to win a trophy at any cost).

Secondly, if he does give young players a chance to impress (and it seems that this is the route that he’s taking), it doesn’t send a good message; how do they feel knowing that they are being used as fodder in a competition he doesn’t care about? Does this motivate them to perform?

Ticket prices

The final issue is a relatively simple one, but one that many would see as the most important – ticket prices. If Redknapp is going to play a second (or even third) string side (which, at the moment seems to be his intention), the club should consider lowering ticket prices for the Europa League matches accordingly. Our fans, I’m sure, are not travelling to Greece expecting to see a full strength team, but I think a number of people will be disappointed if we do not put out some senior professionals.

The talk after the Hearts home game was that many were disappointed with the showing. Whilst I am genuinely excited about watching our Academy products, I can understand that many fans are not, and paying a substantial entrance fee to see 18 year olds that they have not heard of is not everyone’s cup of tea. If the club wants to sell out the home legs and create a good atmosphere, they need to meet fans halfway.

Follow me on Twitter – @WindyCOYS.

I have been clear in my support of Redknapp’s on-pitch achievements thus far, and I do think that until January of this year, he was doing a great job – delivering over-par achievements.

The majority of my criticism of Redknapp has been based on his off-pitch activity. I will not go into the detail of what I see as his short-comings, as they were covered more succinctly than I could ever have managed in Ewan Roberts‘ superb article – One In The Hole blog.

The issue I would like to touch on is the constant “work in progress” state of our squad. Our signings this summer have been hailed by some, and I take the point that we have addressed key areas, and that the players that we have signed should be good signings for this season. However, Friedel at 40, and on a two-year contract, Adebayor on a one-year loan, and Parker (31 in October, albeit on a four-year contract) are not long-term signings; they are signings that will leave us in transition again in the near future.

We now have similar issues in almost every area of our team – players will need replacing in the next one/two/three years, and that is ignoring the fact that our manager is unlikely to be in his post this time next year.

Goalkeepers

Gomes, linked with a late move away, and seemingly not trusted anymore by Redknapp.

Brad Friedel, 40 years old with two years left on his contract.

Carlo Cudicini, 37 years old with one year left on his contract.

Defenders

William Gallas, 34 years old with two years left on his contract.

Ledley King, 30 years old with one year left on his contract and well-known injury problems.

Midfielders

Scott Parker, 31 in October and with a history of injuries.

Luka Modric, almost certain to leave in a year unless we challenge for the title.

Forwards

Emmanuel Adebayor, on a one-year loan and on wages that we could not match on a permanent basis.

Jermain Defoe, 28 years old and seemingly declining at a rapid rate.

Roman Pavlyuchenko, 29 years old and losing value at a similarly rapid rate.

We have also failed to permanently ship out some of the fringe players that Redknapp clearly doesn’t have faith in. Jenas and Bentley have moved, but only on loan. Bassong’s agent confirmed that a deal to QPR was all but tied up, and would presumably have gone ahead had we signed Cahill. Alnwick has managed to cling on to his Spurs career and was given a one year contract in the summer. Giovani Dos Santos failed to secure a move away. None of these players are likely to play more than 5 or 10 games this season.

Redknapp has admitted to interest in Phil Neville and Joe Cole, and has also been linked to Craig Bellamy and Owen Hargreaves. The constant links with ageing players who have question marks over either their fitness, ability, or mental state is worrying.

I have gone into the last few windows thinking what a large amount of work we have had to do – not just in terms of signing top-class players, but also in clearing the decks. The list above highlights the amount of work that Redknapp’s replacement will have, and in my opinion could tempt Levy into another “Director of Football” structure once Redknapp departs.

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Subs:

Kenneth McEvoy (16) for Freddie Champion, 46 minutes.

Victor Zapata-Caceido (16*) for Rueben Lameires, 46 minutes.

Sam Smith (16*) for Ronnie Hawkins, 83minutes.

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

The Spurs Academy were sent back down to earth with a bump this morning, following Wednesday’s 7-1 win against Inter. Of those that started on Wednesday, only Day, Barthram, and Stewart remained, whilst Hawkins, who was a sub in that game, started this one.

The rest of today’s team was made up of a mixture of second years (Munns, Champion, Angol) and first years (Lameiras, Ward, Coulthirst), for whom it is still early in their apprenticeships. In goal was Jonathan Miles, who carried on to a third year of his apprenticeship in the summer.

Daniel Day started in an unfamiliar centre-back position, and it took him a few minutes to settle early on. There were early openings at either end – Stewart misjudging a bouncing ball allowing Lee to get in but head over the bar, and Ward putting in a dangerous cross which was well defended. West Ham took the lead when they played through our deep midfield and defence worryingly easily, before 16-year old Kieran Sadlier turned well and slotted his shot into the bottom left corner.

There was then a stoppage whilst Declan Hunt, who injured himself in fouling Munns, had to be replaced by Lamarr Hurley.

Ronnie Hawkins was looking useful in midfield – picking out Grant Ward with a superb pass, which he failed to control, and also working well as a defensive shield. Angol ran from the right touchline across the penalty box, but his lay-off to Munns resulted in a wayward shot, well over the bar. A firm Lameiras effort from distance was then well blocked, before the game went into a very congested, cagey spell, where the two 4-2-3-1 formations seemed to cancel one another out.

With five minutes to go until the break, things suddenly became more open. First, Barthram made a bustling run to get himself into a great position, before wasting his crossing opportunity, before Ronnie Hawkins against switched play brilliantly to Freddie Champion, who found Barthram in space, but his low cross into the box was stabbed clear. Champion then played a cross-field, and Ward found Coulthirst, who couldn’t quite make space for himself to shoot, and the move fizzled out. At the other end, Dominic Vose overlapped well, and Miles made a good stop at his near post.

Spurs changed things at half-time, taking off the ineffective Champion and Lameiras, and replacing them with first years Kenneth McEvoy and Victor Zapata-Caceido. They played much higher up the pitch, McEvoy to the right and Zapata-Caceido to the left, with Angol a little deeper in more of a 4-3-3. Spurs started the half strongly, and Coulthirst had a superb run down the left channel – he didn’t have too many options, but a ball across the face of goal seemed the best bet. Instead he tried to sneak it in at the near post, and the goalkeeper saved. Hawkins again switched play beautifully to find Barthram, who drove forward and found Zapata-Caceido, who had a shot deflected wide.

Blair Turgott, West Ham’s right winger, who had looked the best attacking player on display, ended the game as a contest on 63 minutes. He turned well, made space for himself, and found the back of the net from outside the box. The ball didn’t find the corner, but it had enough power to easily beat Miles.

On 67 minutes, Day intercepted well and charged forward, finding Coulthirst. He drove forward well and this time he did smash it across the face of goal, but Zapata-Caceido was unable to get on the end of it.

It was 3-0 on 70 minutes, and this one was all down to Miles. He rushed out of goal to meet a loose ball but, presumably wary of picking the ball up on the edge of the box, let the ball run past him. Stewart made a desperate lunging challenge on the eventual scorer, but the ball fell kindly into his path and he tapped home from a couple of yards out.

Spurs nearly pulled a goal back when a typically powerful Munns run ended in him being brought down, and Hawkins drew a good save from the goalkeeper. Minutes later, a Stewart effort from the edge of the box landed at the feet of Zapata-Caceido, whose shot was blocked. It came back out to Stewart, but he fired wide and over.

It was 4-0 with ten minutes remaining, and it was Miles again who made a mess of things. He came out to the edge of the box to try to deal with a high ball that Stewart and a forward were underneath. He missed the ball totally and, as it popped up off the striker’s head, it ran kindly and left him with a tap-in.

Sam Smith replaced Hawkins in midfield as Spurs searched for a consolation. Lee Angol’s high shot was tipped over the bar, and Sam Smith found Coulthirst with a firm pass to the edge of the area. Coulthirst laid the ball off to Zapata-Caceido, who couldn’t beat the keeper from a great position.

Jonathan Miles 3 – I don’t like to be too critical of young players, but this was a bad day at the office for Jonathan. He made a couple of decent saves in the first half, but there are question marks over whether Turgott’s strike should have beaten him, and his two blunders in the second half gave West Ham a scoreline that really flattered them.

Jack Barthram 6 – Put in a typically hard-working display, and did well defensively. Will be a little disappointed with his delivery having got into some decent areas.

Kevin Stewart 6 – Made a slight misjudgement early on, but was otherwise calm and composed. Uses the ball well from the back.

Daniel Day 6 – After a slightly iffy start he settled in well, and worked nicely with Stewart. Won headers despite being significantly shorter than Elliot Lee (who had, incidentally, scored a hat-trick in each of his previous three league games!).

Grant Ward 5 – Struggled a little defensively against the excellent Blair Turgott, but got forward well in support. I look forward to seeing more of him.

Jack Munns 5 – Worked hard, and put in some import challenged, but his passing was quite erratic.

Ronnie Hawkins 6 – When he’s good, he’s very good – his vision and passing are to be admired, and he is a useful defensive screen – but his head seems to drop quite easily at times.

Freddie Champion 4 – Dallied on the ball too often, which was a shame as he has a decent touch and seems to have a reasonable range of passing.

Lee Angol 4 – Struggled today. In the first half we needed him to pull deeper to receive the ball and help link play, but he always seemed to be on the periphery.

Rueben Lameiras 4 – My first look at him, and he didn’t particularly impress today. Seems to have a good touch, but was unable to impose himself on a decent full-back.

Shaq Coulthirst 5 – Lively as ever, but unable to get a clear sight of goal. Had one chance to score, but really should have gone across the keeper.

Kenneth McEvoy 5 – Struggled to get the better of Daniel Potts.

Victor Zapata-Caceido 5 – Had a couple of openings where he may have done a bit better.

Sam Smith – showed some composure and assured touches/sensible passing.

Not a day to remember for the young Spurs side, but certainly not as one-sided as the score suggests.

Follow me on Twitter – @WindyCOYS.

NextGen Series

Wed 31 Aug (Matchroom Stadium, Leyton Orient) Tottenham Hotspur U19s 7-1 Inter Milan U19s

Scorers: Gomelt 3, Coulibaly 2, Pritchard 2

Subs:

Cristian Ceballos (18) for Jake Nicholson, 46.

Ronnie Hawkins (17) for Massimo Luongo, 73.

Horacio Cristian Olaya (17) for Kevin Stewart, 75.

Unused subs:

Billy Grainger (??)

Jack Munns (17)

Spurs made a few changes from their first NextGen Series match; with Hawkins on the bench, and Carroll and Kane not involved, Luongo (now fit again after injury), Barthram, and Gomelt (who it seems may now have signed permanently after being on trial from Croatian side NK Zagreb) came into the side.

The Spurs formation was as shown, but it’s worth noting that the three players in behind Coulibaly were given license to roam, and were very fluid in their movement. Dombaxe was, generally speaking, more central, but the other two switched regularly in the first half.

It took a while for both sides to settle and Spurs didn’t start the game especially well. After a few minutes, Milos Veljkovic gave away the first of many fouls just outside our box, and Inter worked a very clever free kick. A square ball, and then a slide-rule pass between two defenders fell just ahead of their striker, and Spurs had a bit of a let off.

Luongo started to get hold of the ball, and showed his attacking intent; he first dragged a shot well wide, and then was put through towards the left corner of the Inter box, but his attempted trick failed to take him beyond the last man. Minutes later, he was involved in the move from which we opened the scoring. We seemed to pass ourselves into a dead end in the middle of the pitch, but Luongo held on to the ball (as he does so well) and managed to find Stewart with a pass into the right back area. Stewart curled forward first time, and Alex Pritchard sprung the offside trap and finished firmly, giving the goalkeeper little chance (1-0 – video here courtesy of ‘1961GloryGlory’).

Stewart gave away a free kick near the corner flag with a clumsy challenge, but Inter’s delivery was poor and Gomelt cleared at the near post. Spurs got their second goal from nothing. Luongo hit a sort of up and under, hopeful ball forward, and it bounced kindly for Coulibaly. He surged forward and finished emphatically (2-0).

Spurs scored a third a minute later – unfortunately I didn’t see the lead up to the goal, as some late arrivals showed up and I had to temporarily vacate my seat (!), but Gomelt suddenly found himself in acres of space in the right-hand corner of the box, and finished superbly into the far corner (3-0).

Luongo and Nicholson were totally dominating the central midfield region, and Inter tried to change a few things – for example, they temporarily moved their imposing left-winger, Joseph Duncan, into the central area to try to out-muscle our two, but the chances kept coming. Pritchard dragged a shot wide, and then Day got forward well to get on the end of a superb Luongo through-ball, but was muscled out of it by the Inter full-back. Gomelt then showed great vision to ping a ball wide from a central area, but the move broke down when Dombaxe was caught offside.

On 23 minutes, Jake Nicholson pushed forward and had a shot blocked – the ball ricocheted back into his path, and he cleverly played first-time into the feet of Gomelt. Despite Coulibaly confusing the Inter defenders by being offside, Gomelt did look to be onside and so when he calmly slotted home, it was 4-0.

After the restart, Daniel Day picked up a booking for a bad foul on Giannetti, who required treatment, and the resulting free kick was cleared after an attempted near post back-heel lacked power.

Spurs were starting to play some great stuff now, with Pritchard and Luongo in particular pulling the strings – Luongo drilled one delightful first time pass out to Pritchard, but it was just intercepted .

Barthram got forward down the right and whipped in a cross which skimmed off the head of one of the centre backs and fell to Pritchard. Stretching, he managed to prod the ball back into the danger area, and Coulibaly attempted an overhead kick, which he skied (video here). Next, Pritchard tricked his way forward beautifully, but Dombaxe dallied and then lost the ball. The next goal wasn’t long coming, though, and it was very well worked. Luongo played a brilliantly-weighted pass down the right hand side, Dombaxe crossed first time, and Coulibaly, stretching, met it on the half volley and looped it up over the goalkeeper (5-0 – another video, courtesy of ‘1961GloryGlory’).

Luongo was running riot in midfield, often beating a man for fun before laying off to a team-made. He jinked past Simone Pecorini, and the Italian grabbed his shirt right in front of the referee, which earned him a booking. Kevin Stewart then committed another foul of the edge of our box, after Nicholson had given Luongo a bit of an iffy pass, but it again came to nothing.

Inter won a corner, and Coulibaly suddenly charged back just before it was taken to pick up a man on the edge of the box. As the ball was headed out, it went right to where he had positioned himself, but unfortunately he tripped the Inter player, and we had to deal with yet another free kick on the edge of the box. Fortunately, this time it was curled a foot wide of the far post.

We had another slight defensive scare on 36 minutes, when Veljkovic charged forward to meet a loose ball, but was beaten to the bounce by Daniel Bessa. Stewart tracked him and did really well to force him wide – he eventually got a shot away, but from that position it was going to have to be pretty good to beat Miles. From this, we went straight up the other and scored a sixth! Pritchard again played a fantastic through-ball, opening up the defence, and Gomelt showed his excellent finishing skills again to complete his hat-trick (6-0).

Spurs had barely finished celebrating their sixth when Inter made inroads into the box and had a man over on the far left of the box. As Gomelt tracked back to try to stop him getting a shot in, he tripped him; it was a definite penalty. The referee, Warren Atkin, called Gomelt over and seemed to take forever to decide what to do, before eventually showing a red-card for the player who had just completed his hat-trick; a very harsh decision. Gomelt trotted off to a round of applause, and seemed to be questioning the decision with Ferdinand and Sherwood. Not long after Inter had dispatched the penalty, Ferdinand was obviously still a bit upset, as the referee walked over, perhaps to explain the decision.

Inter had a couple of chances in the last few minutes of the half -first, Joseph Duncan went on a good run, but then inadvertently blocked Andrea Romano’s shot, and then Duncan himself shot wide. Miles then made a decent reflex save from a well-struck shot from the edge of the box.

Spurs changed things at half-time, taking off Jake Nicholson, and giving recent signing Cristian Ceballos a run-out. Pritchard moved into central midfield with Luongo, whilst Ceballos and Dombaxe supported Coulibaly.

The half started slowly with the teams a lot more even at 11 vs 10! Coulibaly smashed a shot wide and over, and Veljkovic showed his ability defending well one-on-one against substitute Jakub Vojtus. Massimo Luongo picked a fantastic ball for Coulibaly, which he couldn’t quite control.

Spurs should have had a penalty on 58 minutes when Alex Pritchard won the ball in midfield, showed a clever trick, and then fed Coulibaly, who was promptly bundled over – the referee waved play on. A couple of minutes later Coulibaly was appealing again – he ran in behind, and rounded a fallen defender, who he then tripped over – he called for a penalty, but only got a corner.

Ceballos was seeing a fair bit of the ball, and showed plenty of dribbling ability, but much less an eye for a pass. At one point Luongo had made a supporting run on the left, and the pass was not a difficult one, but Ceballos instead turned into traffic and lost possession.

Pritchard bagged his second of the game with a free kick after a foul on the edge of the Inter penalty area. Ceballos seemed to be lining the kick up, but Pritchard took it, and found the corner (7-1 – video here, with thanks to ‘1961GloryGlory’ for the steady hand).

Gianmarco Falasca was booked for a cynical challenge on Pritchard, and Spurs made a couple of changes – Olaya (who I presume is a trialist/recent signing) coming on at the back for Stewart, and Hawkins on in midfield for Luongo, who was struggling to run off a knock.

Miles made a decent save to the bottom left of his goal, and a flowing move from the away side ended with Duncan blasting well over from distance. Veljkovic was easily beaten and a drive was well-saved by Miles at his near post before, at the other end, the Inter goalkeeper presented the ball straight to Cellabos, who wasted the chance.

Dombaxe had been moved a bit deeper for the closing stages, but Sherwood switched him and Ceballos shouting “get on the ball, Cris”. He duly did so, and did better in his few minutes in this deeper role, playing simple passes and playing himself out of tight corners.

Spurs nearly got an eighth when Pritchard won the ball well and found Coulibaly with an excellent pass. Soli had a quick glance up, and tried an ambitious chip from a long way out, but it drifted over the bar. In the final minute, Pritchard won the ball in midfield again, slipped in Coulibaly for his final hat-trick chance, but he couldn’t quite get on the end of it, with the keeper judging it well and rushing out at his feet.

The second half was, as you would expect, a lot quieter than the first, but Spurs edged it even with 10 men, and deserved to win it 1-0! The 7-1 scoreline was not especially flattering – Spurs really were that good in the first half, and Inter that poor.

Jonathan Miles 7 – He wasn’t really tested, but did what he needed to do, saving smartly at both posts and getting good distance on his punches.

Jack Barthram 8 – Reminds me of Adam Smith with his commitment to tackles and energy in getting forward. Always willing to support the attack.

Kevin Stewart 8 – Very calm on the ball, and quite intelligent defensively. Seems to be much more assured than when I first saw him, and looks very good in one-on-one situations.

Milos Veljkovic 7 – Made a couple of mistakes one-on-one, and gave away some free kicks in dangerous areas, but on the whole he did well and his use of the ball was decent.

Daniel Day 7 – Very enthusiastic, but occasionally reckless. He is one player who really helps to set the tempo, though, which is always needed.

Jake Nicholson 7 – A calm head who uses the ball well. Had a very assured first half, and then was withdrawn when the job was done.

Massimo Luongo 9 – A class act. Great user of the ball, good defensive qualities, very strong and robust. Looking forward to seeing him get some first team chances.

Alex Pritchard 9 – My Man of Match. Scored two (an excellent finish having broken the offside trap, and a free kick from the edge of the box) and was involved in most of our good play. Played off the flank in the first half, and found pockets of space which caused Inter all sorts of problems. Technically excellent with a great attitude too.

Laste Dombaxe 7 – He seems to be feeling his way in back in after a lengthy spell on the sidelines last year. Did well, and got a great assist for Soli, but seemed to tire by the end.

Tomislav Gomelt 8 – What a strange match for him! Scored three excellent goals (a nice variety of finishes too) and showed some good touches, movement and passing, but then unfortunately got a harsh red card for the trip which lead to the penalty. Presuming that he’s a permanent signing, I look forward to seeing more of him.

Souleymane Coulibaly 8 – My first glimpse, and he was pretty much what I expected. An enthusiastic, live-wire striker who never stops pressing/harrying. A good finisher with good technique, but a tendency to take on shots that perhaps he shouldn’t. At just 16 he’s an exciting prospect!

Cristian Ceballos – Clearly a good technician with excellent dribbling ability, but needs to work on when to release the ball.

Ronnie Hawkins – used the ball well and made some decent challeges. Didn’t have too many chances to show off his excellent left foot.

Horacio Cristian Olaya– a big lad with Puyol-esque hair who looked a strong presence at the back, and intelligent user of the ball.

A final word about Inter; they looked a physically imposing side, but were ponderous on the ball and didn’t cope at all well with our quick one and two touch passing moves. A couple of their players seemed to do OK (Daniel Bessa in particular), but on the whole they will be very disappointed with this showing.

One late addition – it was nice to see Kyle Walker, Dean Parrett, Tom Carroll, John Bostock, David Button, Andros Townsend and a number of other players there watching their team-mates.